ED attaches Rs 65.60 lakh properties of NFR deputy chief engineer in disproportionate assets case

Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached three immovable properties worth approximately Rs 65.60 lakh in connection with a disproportionate assets case involving a senior official of Northeast Frontier Railway and his wife.

According to an official press release issued on May 9 by the Shillong Sub-Zonal Office of the ED, the properties belong to Hem Chandra Borah, Deputy Chief Engineer of NFR, and his wife Gayatree Saikia, a teacher at Bhaskar Bidyapith Higher Secondary School in Guwahati.

The ED initiated its probe on the basis of an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation, ACB-I, New Delhi, against Hem Chandra Borah under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and against Gayatree Saikia under sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The CBI had earlier filed a chargesheet before the competent court on March 25, 2025.

According to the ED, analysis of the CBI chargesheet and independent inquiries conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act revealed that during the check period from January 1, 2016 to January 17, 2021, the accused allegedly accumulated assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.

Investigators claimed that the couple amassed disproportionate assets worth approximately ₹73.76 lakh, amounting to nearly 86.88 per cent of their lawful income during the relevant period.

The ED further alleged that the accused adopted a systematic method to launder proceeds of crime. Despite maintaining seven bank accounts between them, their total ATM and UPI withdrawals reportedly amounted to only ₹1.36 lakh.

Officials said the investigation found that the accused relied heavily on cash received as illegal gratification for meeting day-to-day household expenses, thereby preserving their legitimate salaries in bank accounts.

The agency alleged that the accumulated salaries were later routed through cheque payments to acquire immovable properties, which were projected as untainted assets.

Further investigation in the case is currently underway.